1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to expandable bladder toy guns for liquid ejection therefrom. More specifically, the toy gun of the present invention relies upon an expandable, tear drop shaped bladder for release of liquid such as water, wherein the liquid is first stored in a fill tank and is then pumped into the tear drop shaped bladder and expands the tear drop shaped bladder for pressurized bladder containment of the liquid until subsequent trigger release.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
The following patents represent development in bladder-containing toy guns (air and water) as well as other water guns:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,833 to D'Andrade describes a projectile-shooting air gun. It includes a main housing which has a barrel adapted for receiving a projectile, a handle and a trigger, as well as a high pressure, inflatable bladder connected to the main housing, the bladder has an inlet and an outlet. There is also a pressurizing mechanism for providing air pressure to the bladder to inflate it. The pressurizing mechanism is physically connected to the housing and functionally connected to the bladder inlet. There is a bladder deflation valve which is connected to the trigger for opening and closing thereof, and it is connected to a projectile launch tube for launching a projectile upon deflation of at least a portion of the bladder. The launch tube is located in the barrel of the main housing and connected to the bladder deflation valve, and adapted for receiving and shooting a projectile.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,100 to Goldfarb describes a toy vehicle and launcher combination apparatus. The illustrated toy vehicle has a rubber bladder or chamber member that is expanded by water or other liquid under pressing while the vehicle is held on the launcher. The launcher may include a reservoir and pump to provide the water under pressure. When the chamber member is sufficiently expanded, the vehicle is released. A spring gives the vehicle an initial forward thrust; the expanded chamber member contracts to expel the water through a rear outlet nozzle to propel the vehicle forward at a rapid rate.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,991,847 and 4,890,838 to Rudell et al. both describe a timed water release toy. There is disclosed a ball having a foraminous outer shell with an inner membrane which forms an interior closure within the outer shell and with a timer and a release mechanism operative to open the inner membrane and release its contents after the time on the timer expires. The contents spill through the foraminous outer shell, wetting the player who is handling or catching the ball at the moment of release. The timer is activated and the ball is used in a game in which it is tossed between participants who seek to avoid becoming wet when the timer releases the water from the interior closure of the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,081 Randall Morrmann sets forth a compressible ball launcher which relies upon a telescoping cylindrical gun to compress water to force a ball out of a nozzle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,480 to Shindo describes a long range trigger-actuated squirt gun. The squirt gun includes a hollow housing in the form of a gun with a liquid dispensing assembly within the housing. The liquid dispensing assembly includes a rubber tube, expandable upon being filled with liquid, which is connected to a rigid tube with a nozzle at one end, and will dispense liquid from the rubber tube through the nozzle. A pivotable trigger is mounted with one end located to squeeze the rubber tube against the housing. A rigid coil around the rubber tube between the trigger and rigid tube restrains the rubber tube from expansion for the length of the coil. An adapter is provided which is threadable on a faucet, for filling the rubber tube in the squirt gun with water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,239 to Salmon et al. describes a liquid projecting device. The device uses an elastic tubular bladder for receiving liquid which is expandable radially generally spherically at a local segment until a fully-expanded cross-section is achieved at which time the expanded region begins to grow axially, thereby maintaining a relatively constant pressure independent of bladder volume. The device is provided with a nozzle and a valve for controlling and directing the flow of the projected liquid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,830 to Werding describes an appliance for discharging a non-compressible liquid, creamy or pasty product under pressure. The container of rigid material comprises an appliance which employs the contractional force of an expanded rubber hose and an expanded product container for the discharge of a medium stored therein. A hollow body of elastic material located in the axis of a product container is provided with a valve at one end through which it is inflated. The shape of the inner walls for the rigid container limits a radial, diagonal-radial and axial expansion of the appliance in a predetermined ratio, whereby the medium acts upon the inflated hollow body in such a way that the volume of the latter decreases, whereby its inner pressure increases and gives it a tendency to expand. If the squeezing pressure exerted by the rubber hose and the product container upon the medium decreases, the hollow body can expand accordingly and thus compensate the loss of contraction pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,460 to Paranay et al. describes a water gun. The novel water gun is disclosed herein having a body formed with a central bore opening at its opposite ends to provide a discharge nozzle at one end of the body and a storage compartment or reservoir end at the opposite end of the body. The storage compartment end is adapted to releasably hold the end of an inflatable member which when loaded with water under pressure, expands so as to stretch the membrane of the inflatable storage compartment. Upon termination of the loading pressure, the inflatable member collapses under its own elasticity to discharge the stored water via the nozzle end of the body. A clamping device is employed for detachably connecting the inflatable storage compartment to its respective end of the body, and a trigger mechanism may be employed for selectively releasing the pressurized water within the storage compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,559 to Barnby describes a water squirt toy and fill valve combination. The water squirt toy apparatus includes a combination of a water squirt toy and a special filling valve which function together-cooperatively. The water squirt toy includes a resiliently expansible tubular member serving as a water reservoir and encased within a rigid tubular support member, and a manually operated, lever-type, normally closed valve mechanism operatively associated with the expansible member for permitting or preventing fluid discharge therefrom by compressing or pinching the same. The frontward end of the expansible member is fixedly, but removably, secured to a discharge opening. The filling valve is particularly structured for fluidically mating with a conventional hose bib or hose as well as with the discharge opening in order to permit easy and rapid filling and refilling of the expansible member with water. The discharge opening may also mate directly with the hose bib or hose without the special valve. An injector is also provided for operative connection to the filling valve for injecting chemicals in to the water supply whereby the discharged streams will coalesce and exhibit reduced separation so as to be discharged over significantly greater distances; and amusement apparatus which is particularly adaptable for use with the water squirt toy is also disclosed. A weakened annular portion of the tubular member is utilized to insure that the expansion begins frontward and progresses rearwardly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,737 to Kain describes an apparatus for pressure dispensing of fluid products having an elastomeric pressure unit disposed in a surrounding relationship to a flexible, fluid-tight liner. The liner has its open end sealably engaged with a valve support, having a dispensing valve therein. The inherent contracting force which returns an expanded elastomeric pressure unit to its normal unexpanded position, provides the dispensing pressure for the product contained within the flexible liner, while the liner prevents contact between the product and the elastomeric material of the pressure unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,115 to Venus, Jr. et al describes a fluid container especially adapted for the fluid storage and dispensing of a fluid without the use of a propellant or the like. The container utilizes a first expansible lilt bladder which is substantially compatible with the material or fluid to be stored therein and which in most instances, is fluid impervious or material impermeable. The first bladder does not materially contribute to exerting an expelling force on the material stored within and consequently, a second expansible bladder substantially coextensive with the first one is provided wherein the material from which the second bladder is constructed has a high-elastic memory so that upon the filing of a first bladder with a stored fluid, the expansion of the first bladder causes equal expansion of the second bladder to thereby exert a dispensing force upon the material or fluid stored within the first expansible bladder. A novel container utilizing the double bladder concept is also disclosed. Applications of the invention other than containers are also disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,539 to Candido Jacuzzi describes a liquid dispensing and metering assembly. The liquid dispensing and metering assembly in which an expandable receptacle of a material adapted to maintain constant pressure characteristics over a substantial change in volume of liquid content of such receptacle, discharges through a slow rate metering-element to provide a uniform discharge flow at a low constant pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,237,678 issued to Raymond Lohr et al describes a repeating, cork shooting toy which utilizes a cork magazine which rotates after each firing to position the next cork in sequence for firing.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the prior art neither teaches nor suggests the use of an expandable tear drop shaped bladder, pumped up by a pump on a toy gun with liquid from a tank, to subsequently release liquid therefrom, as in the present invention.